Playing time has been scarce for Dexter Pittman this NBA season. It was scarce enough for the Miami Heat to send him down to the D-League.

Pittman is now back tonight for Miami as they face the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center, and it could be his last chance to impress.

When Pittman was picked by the Heat in the 2010 NBA Draft, it was with the team picturing him as their center of the future. Miami knew it had to take time with him given the history of weight issues that Pittman had since high school. The Heat didn’t think it would take this long though.

While Pittman has met Miami’s goals when it comes to weight management, the rest of his game hasn’t caught up. The Heat had hoped that he would have become a rotation player with Chris Bosh becoming the team’s starting center. Unfortunately, Pittman has only been used by the team during garbage time. Given the situation that Pittman faces at the end of the season, this might be the last shot he has at making an impression on the team.

The Heat have been looking for a big man to put into the roster for the long run. The team has recently shown interest in Chris Andersen and is keeping an eye on Greg Oden, who made his plans to return to basketball next season known this month. Miami even considered giving Oden a roster spot this season to monitor his rehabilitation.

If Pittman doesn’t impress the Heat by the end of the season, he will likely be the player that the Heat won’t retain to possibly make a run at Oden.